Script coverage is a filmmaking term for the analysis and grading of screenplays, often within the "script development" department of a production company. While coverage may remain entirely verbal, it usually takes the form of a written report, guided by a rubric that varies from company to company. Criteria includes, but is not limited to:
- INDENTIFICATION: Title, Author, Type of Material, Locale, Genre.
- LOGLINE: A one sentence summary.
- COMMENT SUMMARY: A paragraph summary of the analysis.
- GRADE: Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor for categories that include characterization, premise, storyline, production values, dialogue and more.
- SYNOPSIS: Summary of plot: 1-3 pages depending on script quality.
- BUDGET: The script reader's estimated budget.
- ANALYSIS.
The Script Timeline
When a screenplay is submitted to a production entity, it is given to a script analyst (also known as a “script reader” or, more informally, as simply a “reader”). A script analyst can be a member of the production entity’s staff (such as an employee of a studio’s story department or as part of a smaller company’s script development team) or a freelance worker who assesses scripts for a number of production entities simultaneously. The analyst reads the script and then prepares the coverage, which the production entity’s executives then use to help them determine whether or not to move forward with the project.
Issues in coverage
Economy of the script
By the very nature of summarizing a complicated plot, the coverage will not include every plot twist and subplot. Some characters will be omitted, or briefly introduced for the sake of brevity. In order to decide on what will stay and what will go, the character and actions must support the main plot, and ultimately the premise of the story. Scripts which are not economical, and include peripheral characters, scenes, and storylines that do not support character or plot development do not affect their motivation, and therefore can be omitted from the coverage. In this manner, well-written scripts may have longer synopsises than poorly-written scripts which have lots of extraneous action.
Formatting
Different agencies will have different formatting preferences, but usually the first time a character is introduced, as in traditional screenplay formatting, it is CAPITALIZED. In addition, in a "shooting script" that is meant for the development or production process (as opposed to a "spec" or "submission" script), any abrubt changes in ___location and tone are sometimes described with a CUT TO:, as in screenplays.
Controversy
Any sort of rating system is prone to failure or ineffectiveness by all parties involved. Script coverage may suffer from the regular problematics of bureaucracies as well as a system of reportage that is too removed from the actual material at hand. The internal rules of a production company are thus taken into play: the search for new material is often side-tracked by a tendency towards familiar material and safer genres.[citation needed]
On the writer's side, a thorough knowledge of the business of production and script coverage mechanisms, (say, from reading this article), may yield a screenplay that has been tailored for acceptance rather than fresh ideas.
The above controversy assumes that production companies and script readers are seeking fresh ideas, which is commonly not the case. Script coverage makes reading easier, and is popularly a business venture. On the other hand, the aforementioned conclusion about tailor-made screenplays have been seen as reactionary because formulaic scripts are not the fault of the film industry, but of screenwriters who are looking towards formula for acceptance by production elements, instead of fresh ideas and creative writing.